Catholic And Baptist

Q. I was brought up with Roman Catholic faith but started going to a Baptist church and became born again. At the same time (of being born again) I met a guy – a Catholic & very much into his faith. We are very much in love and want to get married but have a serious obstacle which is faith & ways of worship.

I don’t know what to do! I’ve been praying about it & doing a lot of research, sharing it with him to show him why I believe what I do, but so far it’s all pointless! I need your prayers (for I know you are a brother in Christ) as well as encouragement or tips on the major issues of difference between the 2 sects. To tell you the truth I feel sick and tired of all the major sects and the way Christ has been divided.

A. While Baptists and Catholics are both Christian religions, there is much about them that’s different. For example Catholics don’t believe in salvation by grace alone, and in fact don’t really believe anyone can be saved outside of the Catholic Church. The Catholic religion can be summarized as composed of Grace plus works, Scripture plus tradition, and Jesus plus Mary. All these “pluses” are outside of the Bible and some of them are contrary to its teaching. It isn’t just a matter of being another way of expressing the same thing. The doctrines that differentiate one faith from the other are in the area of core beliefs.

The question you have to answer for yourselves is if the love you have for each other is strong enough to overcome differences that will only go away if you both decide to become lukewarm in the practice of your faith. I’m sorry that this isn’t the answer you were looking for, but you need a clear assessment of the challenge you face.

You’re right, it is a shame how the Church has been divided, but in the case of the Reformation, it was a move back to the basics of the Christian faith. The theme of the Reformation was “Sola Grazie, Sola Fides, Sola Scriptura.” It’s a Latin phrase that means we’re saved by grace alone, only because of our faith in the Lord’s completed work on the cross, and we look only to God’s Word as the source of all truth. It was a protest against all the things that the Catholic Church has added to the Gospel Message, imposing an extra burden on its members that the Lord never intended.

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